Tarbox makes plans for Dover Ward 3 election

DOVER — A Garrison City resident who has already announced he will be running for a City Council seat in November has an opinion on how the fiscal cliff was decided upon last week.

Dexter Tarbox, 21, who plans to run for Ward 3, in the Dover Point area of the city, said if he were a member of Congress, he would have suggested they started earlier.

“We knew this problem was coming for a long time now,” he said.

Aside from the “last minute” work, Tarbox said he is also frustrated with the backroom deals and how taxes were raised.

“People’s pay roll taxes are going to be increasing and affecting people’s daily lives and none of the federal programs are being cut anyway. There is no benefit to this,” he said, adding that it is going to make it harder to raise a family and start a business in Dover.

Business development is one of three pressing issues Tarbox believes the city is facing. He said the city needs to find “a balance between the residential and the commercial part of the city.”

“The downtown needs to grow, but the largest market right now is single-story ranch houses for seniors and we need to make sure that natural scenic beauty and open space is preserved, places where residential developments can continue to grow,” he said.

Tarbox has been campaigning for City Councilor Michael Crago’s position since last summer, even going as far as making shirts, coffee mugs and buttons for his election.

“I want to get as much opportunity as possible to get to know people in Dover to express my ideas,” he said.

Tarbox, who considers himself a conservative Republican, is currently a junior at the University of New Hampshire studying political science, biochemistry and Latin. He would like to go to law school after graduation and continue his career in politics.

“I’ve always had an interest in politics. I love the contest in the elections and the opportunity to serve the city and the community,” he said.

Tarbox said he has nothing against Crago or any council member, for that matter.

“It’s not that I have a fundamental difference of opinion with the current City Council; we actually agree on many things,” he said.

One change Tarbox would make as a council member would be to help to implement fiscally responsible practices.

“A good example is the Capital Improvements Plan that they just passed. This is something which intends to plan for six years of spending into the future and they cut one portion of one line item,” he said. “I think it represents sort of a disconnect between what is happening in City Hall and what is happening on the national level when taxes are going up already, today, in our paychecks and the CIP represents no major cuts in what the city plans to spend. I would like to bring in stronger fiscally responsible policies.”

Tarbox agrees with City Councilor Michael Weeden in that the CIP is not a “wish list,” and that it should involve more cutting.

“It should be an idea of what is practical in the future.”

Tarbox envisions Dover’s future to be well-balanced. He would like to see strong urban planning and development with a defined residential area and a vibrant downtown.

“It should be affordable to live here, raise a family here, good schools and affordable to run a business here,” he said.

Tarbox invites the community to visit his website and learn more about him through his newsletters, available at www.dtarbox.com.